Separator for storage batteries



W. M. STUDEBAKER AND H. J. EPPLE.

'SEPARATOR FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, I920.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

mm'mwo l/WE A/ T I? P PP WITNESSES I 1/ A TTORIVEYS UNITED STATES WALTER MARION STUDEBAKER ND PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT JOHN EI'PLE, 0F VANIA. g

ERIE, PEN N SYL- SEPABATOR FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

and useful Improvements in Separators for Storage Batteries, of which the following is a specification. 4

Our invention relates to separators for secondary batteries,'and particularly to that class of separators formed of glass.

VVeare aware that it has been hitherto proposed to form separators of compositions including glass or glass alone molded into the form of separators, but in all glass separatoL-s with which We are familiar, they are so brittle as to be readily broken by the warping of the electrodes, and are not sufiiciently porous to permit of the full and uniform passage of the electrolyte therethrough.

It is a purpose of our invention to overcome these difiiculties by forming a sepa- We are aware that spun glass has been previously used in various arts for various purposes, but we believe-We are the first to dis- -cover that spun glass is particularly adapted in the making of separators.

In carrying out our invention, strands of spun glass of suitable length and of the desired fineness are arranged in groups so as to provide substantially thick strands. These strands are preferably arranged to extend both longitudinally and transversely of the separator, and are interwoven in any desired manner so long as an interlocking of the several strands is effected to maintain them in a separator formation.

In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings we have shown a conventional form of secondary battery with a portion thereof broken away to show the separators, constructed in accordance with our invention, in applied position between the electrodes.

Specification of Letterslatent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921 Application filed July 17, 1920. Serial No. 397,034.

In Fig. 2 is shown a portionrof'one of the separators embodyin our invention .made up of vertical stran s S and horizontal strands S, all of which are formed of spun glass, with the horizontal strands planted in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the alternate vertical strands S are trained over and under the i horizontal strands S, while the remaining strands are arrangedreversely with respect to the horizontal strands.

By this construction it will be manifest that strands of relativelysmall cross section v can be employed to form a relatively thin I separator which in its applied position between the electrodes of a battery permits of a much closer assembly of the electrodes thereby lessening the internal resistance of the battery As the strands of spun glass are extremely tough, it will be clear that by employing a plurality of strands arranged in groups as in Fig. 2, a separator of great durability is provided, at the same time being sufiiciently flexiblesto conform to the warping of the electrode without in any Way disrupting the strands.

,Although we have herein shown and described only'one form of separator embodying our invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the 'spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

,1. A separator comprising, strands of spun glass arranged in intersecting groups, the groups of strands extending in one direction being plaited, and the strands of the groups extending I in the other direction being trained over and under the groups of strands which extend in the first direction.

2. A separator" comprising, spun glass arranged in intersecting groups, each of the horizontal groups being plai-ted, and the vertical groups being trained over and under each of the horizontal groups.

WALTER MARION STUDEBAKER. HERBERT JOHN EPPLE.

strands of 

